Daybreak
by DemonRider404
Summary: Soul's temper has been getting the best of him for as long as he can remember, but this time, it could cost him the one thing he values most: his partner. After a failed mission and another outburst, Soul is left with a missing meister and a note with an ultimatum-find Maka and bring her home before sunrise..."or else." (Rated M for abuse.)
1. The Kidnap

**Disclaimer: I do not own Soul Eater.**

**A/N: Okay, so at the request of a couple of fans, I've decided to put this story back up, abusive scenes, random useless OC and all. Only difference is I've removed the 6th chapter, since I figure it's a bit useless and caused more confusion than it solved. Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy this anyway. I've added in the warning for mentions of abuse (something I didn't exactly realize I was writing in when I wrote this story at a much lower maturity level than I'm at now) so that readers have a better idea of what to expect and I don't get nasty messages over it. So, enjoy!**

Daybreak

**Chapter 1: The Kidnap**

"This is all your fault, Soul!" Maka yelled, wind racing past her ears so she had to yell. Above her, the first stars began to glitter in the evening sky.

"What the hell, Maka? Why is this _my _fault!" her weapon yelled from in front of her.

"Because it's _always _your fault! You're always cheating, or arguing, or just screwing around in general! And _I _always get in trouble with you!"

"You're the one that's always studying too much to focus on anything else!"

"Well, that way I don't get _strip-searched _for cheat sheets in the middle of a fucking test!

"Hey, I will pull this _damn _bike over and drop your _skinny, flat-chested ass _off of it!"

"Grr, you are _such_ an asshole!"

"And you're a bitch. What else is new?"

Maka cried out in anger and slammed her fists onto his back.

"Why do you always have to—ah! Soul, what the hell!"

Soul pulled his motorcycle suddenly to the side of the road, turning it off and commencing ripping his hair out. Sometimes, this girl just drove him up the wall. He tried to keep his voice even as he spoke through his teeth. He didn't want to yell and hurt her more.

"Get...off...Maka..."

"But Soul-"

"_Now!_"

Maka gasped and quickly dismounted the back of the bike. But in her haste, her left boot caught on the seat and she fell to the pavement, landing on the side of her face. She groaned and lifted her head. Her eyes widened when she saw Soul standing over her, glaring. She knew that look. He only gave her that look when he was about to _really _lose it. She couldn't remember the last time she was this afraid of him.

"S-Soul..."

"Stay here," he growled, his glare threatening her.

"Wait a minute!"

Her heart pounded ten times faster in her chest as she watched him turn to walk away.

"No, you can't just leave me here!" she stood up and grabbed his shoulder. Soul didn't even think about his actions before he turned around and pushed her to the ground, glaring and baring his teeth. His red eyes shone like a raging fire, burning straight into her trembling soul. His teeth seemed to get longer and sharper as he yelled at her.

"Look, if you weren't such a _fucking bitch_ all the time, we wouldn't be stuck on this stupid mission right now! And if you hadn't been _fuckin' arguing with me _while we were fighting the damn snake, we _wouldn't have lost!_"

Maka was quite literally shaking in her boots. She bit her lip hard as he continued yelling.

"You're such an idiot!" he yanked open his jacket, showing off his scar from their battle with Chrona. "You remember this? Yeah, _this _was your fault, too! You're such a _stupid, ignorant, hopeless BITCH!_"

"Stop it! Just stop!"

She couldn't help it. Maka started crying. "I hate it when you say things like that to me!" Maka's body shook with sobs. "And I _hate _it when you mention..._that!_" she motioned to his scar as he fasted his jacket shut again. "I hate it! I hate it! I hate _you!_" she finally screamed, knowing she didn't mean it. She stood and ran down the street, turning the corner and disappearing into the night.

"Wait, Maka!"

But Soul knew he'd never catch up to her. "_Fuck!_" He slammed his fist onto the brick building next to him. And he did it again and again and again...

"Dammit, dammit, _dammit!_"

When Soul finally realized the throbbing pain in the side of his hand, he pulled it away and saw that it was bleeding profusely. He started pulling his hair out, smearing blood into the white strands. He stomped back and forth, never straying too far from his motorcycle as he mentally beat himself. He knew she was probably lost in the dark, deserted streets, but he also knew that he couldn't save her.

_Aw, hell, _he thought, _she'll come crying back to me here soon._

As Soul leaned back against the building, cradling his bleeding right hand, he thought of all the previous times they had fought. Maka would leave crying, but a few minutes later, while he was still kicking himself, she'd run back in and latch onto him, crying into his shoulder. Then, he'd hold her close and inhale the scent of her...and sometimes even cry along with her until they both fell asleep on the couch. Oh, how it irritated the hell out of him when he woke up and couldn't get her off his shoulder.

And oh, how he missed the feeling.

Her head on his shoulder, her small hand on his chest. Her slow, even breathing as she continued to sleep. The mere knowledge and assurance that she was _there_, by his side. Now, he was all alone in the dark, kicking himself again for letting her walk away _again_.

Now _who's the idiot? _He thought as he allowed a tear to fall from his eye. He pulled out a picture he never let her know was in his jacket. It was him and Maka a few days after they met, one arm around each other and grinning ear-to-ear at the camera. Maka had taken it with the arm that wasn't around Soul's shoulders.

"Maka..." he sniffed and wiped his face on his sleeve, putting the photo back in his jacket. _She always wondered why I wore this jacket all the time. Goddamn..._

Now he was scolding himself for crying. _Dammit, cool guys don't cry! _He insisted in his head. _Well, Maka hasn't come back yet. Better go make sure she's okay._

But as he turned around to walk down to street looking for her, he didn't see the shadowy figure behind him raise a board to him.

* * *

When Soul woke up, he felt a serious throbbing in the back of his head. He put one hand on the back of his head, and pulled back a bloody palm.

_Damn..._

He looked above him. There were millions of little diamonds above him, signaling that it was well past midnight.

Past midnight...

"Shit!" Ignoring the pain in his head, he stood up and looked around.

"Maka? Maka! _Maka, where the hell are you!_"

There was no reply to any of his calls. His heart started thumping out of worry for his meister. With how long he had probably been out, she could be anywhere!

Lost...

Cold...

Starving...

Beaten...

His worst fear: Dead...

He looked down and saw a note. Before it could blow away in the cold night wind, he grabbed it and read it.

_I have Maka Albarn._

_Find her and return her to the DWMA before dawn..._

_...or else._


	2. The Warning

**Chapter 2: The Warning**

* * *

**Disclaimer:**

**DemonRider: Ha! I will finish this fanfiction TONIGHT!**

**Soul: Right. Let's just face it, you're gonna pass out on the damn keyboard.**

**DR: Am not. I WILL finish what I started! Including this equation that gives me the code to let me own you!**

**Soul: Keep dreamin'.**

**DR: Don't mind if I do.**

Daybreak

**Chapter 2: The Warning**

Wind whistled through Soul's bloody hair and shrieked past his ears while he rode on his motorcycle back to the DWMA. He knew he had to find his meister or she could die, but he had to tell Lord Death about this. If he didn't know already...

_I have Maka Albarn..._

Those four words made him go faster, to the point where he could hardly see anything. He couldn't stand the thought of her, pinned to a wall in the crucifixion position, bloody and bruised...or tied and gagged on a stone cold floor...locked in a dark room with flesh-eating rodents and scattered skeletons. He parked his motorcycle outside the DWMA, nearly losing a tire as he slammed on the brakes, and ran up the stairs as fast as his legs would carry him. He ran down the halls, his footsteps echoing and undoubtedly waking some people. As he ran by, he caught a glimpse of a clock on one of the the walls. It read 1:20, give or take.

_Find her and return her to the DWMA before dawn..._

That meant he had about five, maybe five and a half hours at the most. And he didn't even know where to start looking! His imagination ran again. He kept hearing her shriek in pain and terror...seeing her being beaten and raped and bleeding...kept smelling her burning flesh...he forced his legs to move faster as he came to the door to the Death Room. The door wouldn't open fast enough for him. He bounced nervously on the balls of his feet. The second there was a big enough entrance, Soul squeezed in through the doors and raced down the hallway. More horrible images flashed through his mind, but he stopped them.

Finally, he made it to the Death Room. There was no-one there.

_...or else._

Dammit, he thought, Maka's out there somewhere, maybe starving, or bleeding to death, and Lord Death isn't here! I'd even take his son right now! Fuck! Maka's probably dying and there's NO-ONE HERE!

"Aw, this is _so _not cool!" he yelled.

"What's the matter, Soul Eater?" Soul heard that familiar voice coming from behind him and sweat-dropped. He turned around and saw Spirit standing behind him. He looked sleepy, with his hands shoved in his pockets. Soul didn't even bother glaring. _Well, at least_someone's _here...but there's no way in _hell _I'm telling him I pretty much hit his daughter...or that she's been kidnapped..._

"Where's Lord Death?" Soul asked.

"What about Lord Death?" came the funny, plucky voice from Soul's other side. He spun and ran up to Death, gasping.

"Lord Death!" Soul bowed; force of habit, something Maka wouldn't allow him to forget.

"Soul," he said gently, "it's nearly one-thirty in the morning. What kind of emergency could you _possibly _have this late?"

"Lord Death, it's Maka!"

"What?" called Spirit, "What's happened to my daughter?"

_Shit...forgot he was here. Ah, well, can't be remedied._

"What's wrong with Maka?" Lord Death queried, "Did she get hurt on your mission?"

"Well...yes...and no..."

"_Which is it, yes or no?_" Spirit yelled, grabbing him by his collar and lifting him off the ground, his blades shooting out of his back and arms.

"Now, now, Spirit," Lord Death soothed, "we'll have none of that. But, yes, Soul, I don't really understand your answer, either. Is Maka hurt or isn't she?"

"Well, it's kind of a long story. See..."

Both Spirit (blades retracted) and Death were standing in front of him, their faces begging him to continue. Soul sighed. _Well, might as well get this over with._

"See, me and Maka, while we were fighting the Kishin Egg...we started arguing, and...she—ah, _we _got distracted. I managed to keep her from getting hurt, but the thing got away. We got on the bike and...um...we...started fighting." He took a deep breath and resumed his story, deciding to leave out the pushing; he really didn't need Spirit to murder him now. "It...got more heated than usual. We pulled over and started yelling and shit, and she ran away. I went to go look for her, and...something hit me over the head. When I woke up, Maka was still gone, and there was this."

He handed Lord Death the note. Spirit read over his shoulder, then glared at Soul. He grabbed him by his collar and lifted him off the ground _again, _this time screaming in his face.

"_Damn it, Soul Eater, if my daughter gets hurt, I'll rip you to shreds! I might even get Stein to help me out!_"

"I had nothing to do with this, Spirit," came the crazy scientist's voice, followed by a creaking and a clanking; he was screwing his bolt back into his head. Spirit dropped Soul to the ground and looked at Stein.

"Stein, when did you get up?" he asked.

"Well, with all this yelling, I had to find out what was going on. What _is _going on, anyways?

"Maka Albarn has been kidnapped," Lord Death answered.

"Maka Albarn?" Stein said, sounding almost incredulous, "Spirit's daughter? The one with the beautiful skin?"

"_Hey!_" Soul said from the floor, "_Don't you be talking about my meister like that! She could be dying right now, don't you think she deserves some respect?"_

"Yes, she could be dying..." Death spoke again, "so you should be looking for her, don't you think, Soul?"

"That's the thing. I...I don't know where to start. And I've only got until dawn."

"Hey..." Spirit murmured, "where's Summer?" Summer was the teenage redhead that pretty much stuck by Death's side; she was his latest Deathscythe, and, a bit like Spirit, she pretty much lived in the Death Room after her meister had gone mysteriously missing; a mystery that had never been solved and had absolutely nothing to do with what was currently going on.

"Oh, you know Summer," Stein said, "that girl will sleep through anything. Even your yelling."

"Yeah..."

"Guys!" Soul yelled, "This is about Maka being kidnapped, not Summer being able to sleep through a fucking hurricane!"

"Yes, yes," Stein said, "Well, which direction did she run?"

Soul stood up. "I...uh...I dunno, she ran down the block and then took a left, and...I just...lost sight of her."

"Mm-hmm. So, start there. You said you two were arguing more heatedly than usual, right?"

"Well, yeah...she ran off crying..."

"So, if she was running that fast and crying at the same time, she'd undoubtedly be a bit clumsy. She'll leave a trail of something for you to follow."

"I just wish I knew who took her..."

"That doesn't matter at this point. What matters is finding her and bringing her back alive and in one piece, preferably."

"Yeah. I'll bring her back alive." Soul turned around and was about to start running, but Lord Death stopped him.

"Soul."

"Yeah?"

"You _must _bring her back alive. _Or else._"

Or else. There it was again.

"I will."


	3. The Hunt Part 1

**Disclaimer:**

**DemonRider: HA! It's 1:30 in the morning and I'm almost halfway done with this story! Take that, Soul!**

**Soul: Whatever. I give it half an hour.**

**DR: One of these days, I am SO gonna own you, and you are gonna PAY.**

**Soul: Psh. I'm more afraid of Maka's book than I am of your fists.**

**DR: Who said I was gonna attack you physically? *Smirk* Never rouse a writer's wrath.**

* * *

**Chapter 3: The Hunt Part 1**

Soul hurriedly rode his motorcycle back to the spot where he and Maka had fought earlier. He dropped his bike off on the side of the road, in the shadows, and walked farther down the block, in the direction Maka had ran. He took the left turn and jogged down the pavement, looking around for any sort of clue that could lead him to her. He looked at his watch. It was 1:36. He had to search practically this whole town in less than five hours.

_I've gotta do it, _he thought, _for Maka. I've never let her get hurt in a battle or otherwise; I can't let her down now!_

It was then that he saw it: a dark splatter on the pavement, and a line of dark spots going down the block. _Blood. _Probably Maka's, but from what? He didn't know, nor did he care. He merely followed the dark trail through the streets, praying it would take him somewhere. The whole way down the street, he remembered their previous fights. Like, for instance, the one over the time when Maka walked in on Blair being all over him when Maka came in to inform him that breakfast was ready...yes, she had kicked him out the window, but that was nothing compared to what happened later that day. It was the first time their arguments had ever gotten violent:

**Flashback begins**

_"Maka, I don't get it, did you _really _have to kick me out the window?" he asked, his head sitting on an ice pack in his hand, his elbow resting on the table. Maka was walking around the kitchen, tidying up and whatnot._

_"Sorry, but, it was a little awkward, walking in on you and Blair doing..._that_! Get your elbow off the table," her order was redundant, since she actually _pushed _his elbow off the table._

_"What? Oh, so it was _my _fault?"_

_"Maybe."_

_"Hey, _she _was coming onto _me!_" he yelled, jumping into a standing position,_ "_I didn't want her to, and I didn't encourage her!"_

_"Well, sorry for being worried that my partner was gonna leave me _again_!" She grabbed his shoulders and pushed him back into his chair._

_"Wha..." then, he understood. "The hell, Maka! You should have known I wouldn't _actually _leave you for Blair! 'Sides, I thought you were, like, _way _over that shit!"_

_"Sorry, but it's kind of difficult to let go of!"_

_"Maka, you're so stupid!"_

_"Yeah, that's what you told me when I asked if Blair was using her magic to steal your heart away."_

_"Goddamn it, Maka...do we have to go over this again?"_

_"No, we-"_

_"Fine, we'll go over it again," Soul said, overlapping her._

_"No, Soul, I don't wanna-"_

_Soul spoke over her,_

_"I'm not gonna leave you for Blair, alright?"_

_"Soul, I get-"_

_"You're my meister, she's not..."_

_"Soul, I don't want to talk about..."_

_"I would never abandon my meister for a witch..."_

_"Soul, can you please..."_

_"And you're totally not lis-"_

_"Would you just shut the_ fuck _up about it_!_"_

_They were both silenced out of shock. Soul was amazed that she'd not only screamed at him, but _cussed _at him, too. Maka was amazed at her own audacity, _and _that she'd just cussed at Soul. They both sat in silence for a minute or two. Maka was shaking with anger._

_"No," Soul finally said, standing again. "No, I won't shut up. You keep getting the wrong _fuckin' _idea, and I'm gonna make sure you understand, once and for all, that, whether you like it or not, _you're wrong!_"_

_"Soul, please," Maka said, stomping her foot lightly. Her voice sounded slightly choked. Soul was both amazed and alarmed; when she looked at him, her face was red and puffy; she was..._crying. _Maka was actually _crying_. "I don't _wanna _go over this again!"_

_"No, we're gonna fix this."_

_"No!"_

_"Yes! I'm tired of having to do this over and over again! We're gonna finish this shit."_

_"Soul, no!"_

_Maka turned around to storm off to her room, but Soul grabbed her shoulders, spun her around, and pushed her into the counter._

_"Maka Albarn, we are _going _to end this, whether you like it or not!"_

_"No! No, we've already ended this!"_

_"Well, obviously, we haven't!"_

_"Dammit, I don't want to talk about this anymore!" she sobbed._

_"I'm not letting this go unnoticed! I want to get this out of the way, for good!"_

_"Then just leave it alone!"_

_"A wound doesn't heal as fast if it's ignored!"_

_"Soul, leave me alone!"_

_Maka wrestled herself from Soul's grasp, but he grabbed her again, harder this time, and slammed her into her bedroom door. He glared at her and growled deep in his throat. Maka's green eyes widened in pure terror. She tried to get away, twisting and turning._

_"Maka, dammit, look at me! Would I put my life on the line for Blair? Would I?"_

_She stopped squirming and looked at him through the corner of her eye._

_"N-n-no..."_

_"Do I worry about her _every damn day of my fucking life_?"_

_"No!"_

_"She means nothing to me! You're my meister! I'll die for you, but she doesn't mean a fuckin' thing! Got it?"_

_"Yes! Now please, let me go! You're hurting me!"_

_Soul released his iron grip, and Maka immediately ran into her room, hardly breathing with how heavily she was crying. As Soul paced around kitchen and allowed himself to cool off, he began to seriously regret his actions. He sighed and walked up to her bedroom door. He was about to knock, but he stopped, hearing Blair speaking._

_"Do you guys really have to fight, though?"_

_Maka sniffed. " Well...you know, every relationship has to fight. Even friends fight. Like just there."_

_"Well, yes, I know that. But...all that yelling and banging...it was a little traumatizing, like a child watching Mommy and Daddy fight...you know?"_

_"Yeah, I'm sorry, Blair. We really shouldn't've been that heated about it..."_

_"It's okay. Just pet me."_

_Soul sighed and opened the door just a little to poke his head in. Blair was sitting in Maka's lap in her cat form, being petted by her. Maka looked up at Soul. Her face was red and tear-stained, and it tugged at Soul's heart._

_"What do _you _want?" Soul sighed and shut the door behind him as he entered. He walked over to her bed. Maka noticed that he wasn't angry anymore, she she just stay put._

_"To talk to you. Alone," he added as he grabbed a mildly protesting Blair out of her lap. Blair sighed as she was put on the floor._

_"Fine, fine..."_

_She walked out the other door, and Soul shut it, sitting on Maka's bed. She leaned back into her pillows, but didn't look at him. He took his knuckles and gently stroked her tear-stained cheek. He noticed something odd on her arm. He gently grabbed it and lifted it to him, rolling up the sleeve._

_"Ah—Soul?"_

_He didn't respond. His heart pretty much collapsed when he saw the bruise on her upper arm. He bit his lip and looked at her. She was looking down. He sighed and gently put his forehead down on her shoulder, holding back tears._

_"So..." she said, quietly and expressionlessly, "what is it you wanted to talk about?"_

_"I'm so sorry, Maka!" he cried. No, literally _cried. _Now it was his turn to be the surprising one. "I...I didn't...I really didn't want to hurt you! It was totally uncool, and...God, I didn't think...I-I didn't mean it, I swear..."_

_"Soul?" Maka looked worried now. She put her arms around Soul, who, at this point, was actually laying next to her. She sat there and held him like a child, as he continued to cry out of regret._

_"I'm so sorry, Maka, I...I didn't mean to...I-I just lost it!"_

_"It's okay, Soul, please..."_

_"Maka..."_

**Flashback Ends**

Even after all this time, Soul _still _regretted saying those things to her. His hands clenched into fists.

_"Soul! You're hurting me!"_

Still, that cry was like a steel knife in his heart, still raised a lump in his throat, still made his eyes tear up. _No, _he thought, _no, cool guys don't cry. Anyways, Maka would want me to be tougher than this. The past is the past. Can't cry over it now. I've gotta find Maka!_

And, just his luck, the trail of blood thinned and stopped in the middle of four-way intersection. He cussed at the top of his lungs and looked around, trying to decide whether to take a left, a right, or just keep going straight. He wasn't used to thinking things through logically, but he decided that Maka would try to find her way back to where Soul was, so he took a left again. He checked his watch again. It was nearly 2:30! He went back to the crossroads and tried the right. He pushed his legs to run faster as he searched for any indication of where she might be. There was nothing, and he had only two and a half hours left.

He looked in the windows and doors of every single place he found, and eventually took the forward option. By the time he finally finished his search, it was almost 3:10.

_Damn it, damn it, DAMN IT! Where haven't I looked?_

Soul began panicking now. Could she have been kidnapped by a witch? She wasn't even in Death City, for all he knew!

It was then that he heard her scream. It was coming from the center of the city.


	4. The Hunt Part 2

**Disclaimer:**

**DR: Maka, I'm busy with this fanfic, so can you do me a huge favor?**

**Maka: What?**

**DR: Can you go to your creator and tell him I'll bet his ownership of you that I'll finish this fanfic today?**

**Maka: Are you crazy or something?**

**DR: To put it bluntly...YES!**

**Maka: Yeah, well, it was clever, but, nice try.**

* * *

**Chapter 4: The Hunt Part 2**

Soul's heart bolted along with his legs when he heard Maka scream. He couldn't let her get hurt any more than she already was. He dashed towards the center of the city, following the continued screams. As he got closer to her, her shrieks grew louder, making him run faster. At some point, he began running so fast, he lost his footing and fell. He managed to break his fall, at the mere cost of cutting open both of his hands and feeling something crack in his left wrist. Ignoring the pain, he got right back up and kept running.

Each time Maka screamed, Soul's stomach twisted into another knot and his heart skipped another beat. _Maka...hang in there,I'm coming! _he thought, as though she could hear him somehow, followed by a short prayer: _Please, let Maka be alive when I find her!_

Soul's hopes were shattered when Maka's next scream was cut off, but he just kept running. For all he knew, she'd gotten away. Finally, Soul found the origin of where the screams had been coming from, and it stopped him in his tracks. He was...outside the DWMA! He had climbed the stairs without even noticing it...but, wait-!

_Nuh-uh! I was...I was THAT close to her? And I just kept getting farther! She was RIGHT HERE the whole damn time?_

"Oh, Soul Eater..." came a sweet, singsong voice, a female one. It had a slight lilt to it...British, maybe? Soul looked up to see a shrouded figure standing on the middle point of the school, on the very edge. He couldn't see who it was, they were in a black hooded cloak, but he could clearly see the unconscious person they were holding. They held her by her waist with one arm, and used the other to hold a sword to her throat.

"Maka!" Soul cried with the breath that he still had.

"'Bout time you got here," the girl holding Maka's limp body said, "I've been holding this girl up here for nearly three and a half hours."

"What did you do to Maka?" he yelled, clenching his fists.

"Hmm? Oh, this?" She adjusted Maka a little. "Oh, she was starting to scream, so I bumped her on the head to shut her up."

"What do you want her for?"

"Mmm...nothing much. I only want her for my, ah, _collection_."

Soul shivered at the way she said "collection."

"C-collection of _what_?" he almost didn't want to know, but he had to find out.

"Mm? Oh! Don't you know? I'm going to kill her. I want her soul."

Soul gasped, then glared. "Oh, no you fucking don't!"

"Oh? And how are you going to stop me, silly? You see, you can't very well get her down from _there, _you're a short-range weapon. But if you try to come up here by climbing the stairs inside...I'll drop her."

There was a silence. Then, the woman adjusted Maka so that she tilted her head up, and placed the sword to her neck.

"So, Soul Eater, how does she die? Does she fall? Or does she go _the hard way_?" to demonstrate what "the hard way" was, she pressed the sword to Maka's neck, allowing a few drops of blood to roll down her skin. The liquid painted deep red marks that made Soul's breath hitch.

_Shit! Now what do I do?_

"Tick, tock, tick, tock, Soul..." she murmured. There was silence for a long time as Soul considered how to save his meister...with only an hour and a half left.

* * *

Finally, the cloaked figure grew impatient with Soul's silence. He was sure that if he could have seen her face, she would have been scowling. At last, she spoke.

"Soul...do you _really _care for your meister as much as you're showing?"

Soul was taken aback. "What do you mean? Of course I care for her!"

Another short silence. "That's not what I meant, and you know it."

"I know what you mean. You want to know if I _love _her."

"Very good, Soul. I'm smiling."

Suddenly, something hit Soul as off-balance. Something was wrong, but he wasn't sure what. All he knew was that something very subtle had been skewed. If Maka were conscious, she would have missed it by a mile.

"So?"

That one word from the woman's mouth threw everything into perspective for Soul.

"You're hiding something," he said.

"Mm?" she sounded confused. "What are you talking about?"

"You're not speaking with that funny accent anymore!"

The woman gasped.

"That's right!" Soul cried, "You're hiding your identity because you're someone I know, aren't you? Who the hell are you?"

After a couple seconds of consideration, the woman pulled her sword away from Maka's still-bleeding neck and let go of her waist. Maka's cloak flapped like birds' wings as she plummeted almost two hundred feet. Soul's heart stopped. He leaped forward and up at the same time the hooded figure jumped down, catching Maka tightly in his arms at the very last second, his back slamming into the ground painfully. When he regained his breath at last, he looked over Maka's still-limp body. His heart rate finally slowed upon finding that her pulse was still there. She appeared to be breathing alright. But it was that little nick in her skin, just a little above her collarbone, that had him worried.

The sound of boot-clad feet hitting the pavement passed through deaf ears as Soul gently traced faint tear-stains on Maka's sleeping, peaceful face. What if he _did _love her? What other reason would he have for putting himself in mortal peril to make sure she survived? If he didn't _love _her, then why would he be out here, lying with her tiny, unconscious form on his chest, her cloak strewn all over the place?

It was the sword at his throat that snapped him from his trance. He followed its silvery blade, spotted with blood in places, up to the hood of the cloaked figure. The hand that held the hilt of the sword was long and slender, and he thought he saw...a fake nail? He didn't have much time to focus on that. The woman spoke again, quietly, frighteningly.

"You risked getting crushed to save her bones from shattering..."

Soul remained silent, glaring. The woman only grunted and continued.

"I'm sure you're quite aware that I'm not going to make this easy for you? You still have to fight for her, you know."

Soul gently laid Maka's body on the ground, being very mindful of her head. Then, he stood up, the pre-dawn wind sending his hair every which way. He glared at the woman, the two circling around an imaginary center point, Soul bringing out his scythe arm.

"Are you kidding? I'm ready to _die _for my meister if I have to!"

The woman chuckled. "Then you're hopeless. Hopelessly _in love!_" she yelled, throwing herself at him. Soul was ready for her, bringing up his arm to defend his face. But, to his amazement, she used his scythe arm as a platform, leaping over his head and into the night sky. As she came down, her sword pointed down at his head, she tugged on her hood to hide her face as she came down on him like a meteor. He quickly dived out of the way, spinning so that he was behind her, and he swung at her back. He managed to make a minor cut in her cloak, but she quickly reared back, twirling on her heel and swinging at him again. He kept diving backwards, being mindful to leap over Maka's body before he stepped on her. His assailant hesitated only a moment, before lifting her sword and swinging down onto Maka's unconscious form. As fast as his body would allow him, Soul leaped over Maka, blocking the blade with his arm again, causing much pain to him again, though he ignored it.

_C'mon, man...f-for Maka!_

They were at a standstill. The woman raised her sword and hit him over the head with the hilt, knocking him to the side, grasping his bleeding head. When he rolled back over to protect Maka, the hooded woman had her under her arm.

"If you want her back alive, you're gonna have to find me pretty fast, Soul Eater!"

And she leaped off into the night, leaving him with only one more warning: "The clock is ticking! And Maka's not the only friend of yours I'll go after!"


	5. The Rescue

**Disclaimer:**

**DR: Yay! Climax chappy! Finally get to all the action!**

**Soul: *sigh* You and your twisted plots...I'm so glad you don't own us...**

**DR: Don't remind me...**

**Maka: I honestly expected this story to be way longer.**

**DR: Nope!**

Daybreak

**Chapter 5: The Rescue**

Soul lay down, dazed, as he watched the figure bound away with his meister...

...no...

...his _love_.

He cursed loudly and slammed his fist on the pavement, standing up and allowing this realization to settle into his mind. His stomach curled into hundreds of little knots; his muscles suddenly got a huge jolt of energy; he wanted to _run!_ Soul turned and sped down the steps, letting his new-found feelings carry him. He was sprinting on air; his feet barely touched the ground as he hightailed across the city.

No matter how much he ran, Soul never ran out of energy. Every time Maka's sweet, smiling face showed up in his memory, another jolt of pure energy would electrocute him again, the free feeling of actually flying was renewed. He had no idea where he was going, but something in his gut told him that this new feeling, this new method of transportation, would take him to Maka.

A shriek resounded through the dark city. But it wasn't Maka's. Still, the sound forced him to go forward; she did sound familiar...

The screaming continued, followed by cries of "No, please, stop!" Now people were starting to turn on their porch lights and come out of their houses, trying to find out what all the ruckus was about. He finally found himself at that same intersection where Maka's blood-trail had lead him earlier that day. However, now, in the middle of the crossroads lay Summer, Death's most recent Deathscythe. Her rose-red hair was loose and spread around her like a fan. Her body was mangled, one of her knees was dislocated, her nose was broken, a couple of her fingers looked broken, and there were profusely-bleeding cuts all over her body. There was a person standing above her...Soul gasped. It was...

...the hooded figure who'd had Maka! She had her sword drawn and was pointing it down at Summer's heart. Summer had tears running down her face, and mutilated sobs choked her.

_Oh, shit! NOT cool! Must-do-something-must-do-something-must..._

"HEY!" the word was out of his mouth before he could think twice. And he suddenly wish he had. The figure looked up from the sobbing redhead and would surely have been glaring at him had he been able to see her eyes. He could already feel her sword through his belly. He pulled out his scythe-arm, ready to fight and trying to keep his cool. Summer groaned and cried out between sobs.

"H-her voice! Her voice!"

But the hooded figure only sheathed her sword and bounded away. Soul, making sure that nobody was coming to kill him or Summer, he picked her up, putting one arm on her back and the other under her knees, and started towards the DWMA.

"S-Soul...no..." Summer groaned.

"Summer, don't. I'm taking you to the DWMA to get you fixed up!"

"No, Soul, leave me here!"

"No way!"

"Soul!"

"Summer, don't fight with me; I have to get you back and find Maka before sunrise!"

"That's why you can't take me back; I know where she is!"

Soul stopped in his tracks. "You what?"

Summer sighed. "Before the woman decided to try to kill me...she told me there was an old abandoned store down the street or something from here. Said it was about half a mile. She's keeping Maka in the basement. She said something, too..."

"What?"

"I don't really know, it was sort of a spell, I guess, she said, 'Thy body will lay unmoving, thy heart still. Thy soul will scream, thy blood...' she didn't finish before you came up."

Soul digested this new information carefully. Finally, he nodded and set her down on the sidewalk, where she leaned, with some difficulty, against the wall.

"So, she's collecting souls?"

Summer shook her head. "Well, in a way; she's collecting _women's _souls, mainly meisters, weapons, et cetera. She thinks they contain more power than those of ordinary humans."

Soul nodded again. "Well, get to the DWMA as fast as you can, before she finds you again! She has a tendency of losing me..."

And with that, he sprinted down the street, never taking his eyes off the pink tint on the horizon.

It wasn't long before he finally saw the old store Summer had described; apparently it used to be an antique shop of some sort. The name painted on the front of the door, like the rest of the paint, was chipped and peeled, to the point where he couldn't read it. The wide clapboard siding had once upon a time been a dark, rich mahogany, before being painted a loud, sunny yellow. Over the years the store had evidently been out of business, it had been defaced with carvings and other graffiti, and the windows had grown moldy and misted, so that he could barely see inside. He rested his hand on the faded gold doorknob, and when he lifted his head to check inside, he thought he saw a figure. The glass was so obscured by mildew and Death only knew what else that he couldn't quite see them, but he saw when they opened a sort of trapdoor and disappeared beneath the floor. It was almost as if...he was being shown the way.

He turned the knob easily, but the door wouldn't move. With a little more force, the door finally creaked open, cracking loudly as it detached from the door frame it had probably been fused to for decades. The loud bang was followed by the tinkling of the little bell above the door, which would have alerted the clerk of his presence, had there been one. There was no one else in there but Soul. Several dust-covered boxes, stacked against the moldy, faded walls, had been used as nesting places for spiders and other creepy bugs, and the dark corners undoubtedly held a wasp nest or two. At the front of the store there was a counter where the clerk had used to stand, along with an open, type-writer looking thing that must have once been the cash register. Everything was blanketed in an undoubtedly half-inch-thick layer of dust. The hardwood floor was rotted and riddled with jagged holes that led down into what was clearly the basement. Cobwebs shrouded his view of what lay beneath the floor.

He walked in carefully, the floorboards shrieking under his weight. He cautiously sneaked along the floor towards the trapdoor, but no matter how lightly he stepped, the floor still screeched with age. The opening in the floor wasn't too hard to find; it was the only thing not covered in dust. Or, at least, not as much of it. Soul coughed; even the air was thick with the stuff! He dropped quietly to his knees and felt around for the handle. He fell into a coughing fit once more after stirring up a lot more powder. Finally, he found a little notch and lifted the door easily, though it creaked just a little bit. Beneath the door lay several wooden stairs. He could see nothing beyond the first five steps, but still didn't hesitate to crawl down and begin carefully navigating the creaky stairs, which he found, spiraled to the bottom. He closed the trapdoor, just in case someone could see him from the outside.

As he guardedly creeped down the staircase, his eyes adjusted to the darkness. At the foot of the stairway, he could see the flickering shadows caused by burning candles, giving the fairly small, stone room an ominous orange glow, much like one of a dungeon. Except for a stack of hay and a couple of boxes in one corner, the room was empty. He heard a female voice chanting and ducked low into the shadows, peeking through the bars of the railing. He could roughly see the cloaked figure kneeling at what he was guessing was an altar. He had stopped at a bad angle; there was a wide support beam right in the center of his vision. He couldn't move very far to either side for fear of the stairs creaking and alerting the woman. He risked very slowly tilting to the right, and held back a cry of surprise, fear, and victory; there was Maka!

She slumped forward on the other side of the candle-adorned table, sitting on her knees. From what Soul could see, she was beaten up pretty badly. Her hair was out of its usual pigtails, tangled and dirty. Her head was hanging down, but from the way her clothes were torn to ribbons, her feet were bare, and her fingers looked dislocated, he assumed her face must look similarly injured. Her body was covered from head to toe in blood. Her arms were tied to her sides with a considerable length of thick rope which coiled around her body from just below her shoulders to right above her hips.

The woman in the hood on the other side of the altar sat also on her knees, but with much better posture. In her hand she held a thick, leather-bound book. She murmured what sounded like a prayer of sorts, but he only heard most of it:

"_...dark Goddess, I invoke thy awesome and terrific presence into this sacrificial ritual, the performance of which will grant me an abundance of power, thusly making me truly fit to be your servant. With the soul..."_

Another sound cut through the woman's praying. Soul quickly recognized the unmistakeable sound of crying...of terrified sobbing. Soul realized, as though a fist of iron had gripped his heart, that Maka was crying. The woman soon finished her prayer and picked up an object off the altar. There was another twist in his heart as he realized that the object she was stroking with long, slender hands in admiration...was the sword she had wielded against him both times they had met.

_Must be her twisted version of a sacrificial knife, _Soul thought. His assumption was soon proven correct as she slashed it easily through the air, slicing Maka straight across her cheek. Her head thrashed to the side, so that she was turned away from Soul.

"Shut up!" the cloaked woman hissed, "Your incessant sobbing proves useless! No-one will save you now."

She pointed her sword directly at Maka's throat, beginning to chant her spell.

"_Thy body will lay unmoving,_

_Thy heart still,_

_Thy soul will scream,_

_Thy blood will spill..."_

She pulled her sword back across her shoulder, prepared to slit Maka's throat right open, as she continued chanting. All thoughts of remaining hidden were abandoned by Soul, and were replaced with one simple goal.

_Save her!_

He leaped to his feet and jumped the stairs three at a time, yelling out a sort of war cry. The woman and Maka both turned their heads to him. Though his focus was mostly on the woman with the sword, he saw Maka smile weakly.

"Soul!" she breathed.

"No!" the hooded woman gasped, pointing the sword to him, obviously expecting him to impale himself. But though he was usually a stubborn ass, Soul did occasionally pick things up from other people. He used the same trick she had, albeit without the same agility and balance, using her sword as a springboard and leaping over her, seemingly in slow-motion. He made sure to plant his shoe right into her head, effectively knocking her unconscious, before landing clumsily next to Maka. He instantly dropped to his knees and used his scythe arm to sever her bonds. As soon as she could move, Maka threw her arms around Soul's neck, sobbing silently into his shoulder.

"You came back," she whispered, gasping for air. Soul circled his arms around her waist, nestling his face into her neck, which still had lines of dried blood staining her otherwise perfect skin.

"I'd never leave you, Maka," he murmured, feeling tears stinging at his own eyes. The two pulled back from their embrace and looked into each others eyes with a certain kind of passion, one that neither understood, and yet knew exactly what it was. The world spun slowly around them, and they didn't quite notice it, but they were slowly leaning in towards each other, lips slightly parted, eyes half-open, and still holding onto one another. It was Soul who realized what was happening first.

"Maka," he whispered lovingly, closing his eyes to kiss her.

But he never got the chance. They were broken apart by the woman's voice.

"You're...t-too late..." she croaked, "...it is...nearly daybreak."

Soul's eyes widened. "No! Wait..." they narrowed suspiciously now, "just how are you going to kill her at dawn if you're still down here? I could very well just walk back to the DWMA with her!"

The woman chuckled darkly. "Stupid...boy...the spell...I...c-cast...will kill her...as soon as the...sun r-r-rises...whether I...kill...h-her or...not. The only...way...to s-save her...is to...g-g-get her...back...into the...realm...o-of...L-Lord..."

The woman passed out. He didn't waste any more time. He tried to lift her to her feet, only to realize that she was far too weak to stand. He hastily put one arm beneath her knees and the other under her torso, lifting her bridal-style and hurrying up the stairs, leaving the cloaked woman to die.

He reached the trapdoor and knocked it open with his head, climbing painfully back into the abandoned store. When he came to the door of the shop, he tried to ram it with his shoulder, only to remember that one tiny detail...

"T-that door...opens inward..." Maka murmured sleepily, tightening her arms around his neck, also seeing the connection between this incident and what had happened during their first encounter with Chrona. Soul tried to ignore said connection as he broke the door down_anyway, _looking towards the horizon and seeing just how close the sun was to peeking over the hills. Soul raced down the streets, finally finding himself at the block where this argument had all started. There was...his bike? He was sure he had left it outside the DWMA, but...hell, at least it was here. He gingerly placed Maka in the seat on the back, before hurriedly mounting the bike, securing her arms around his waist, kick-starting the engine, and speeding down the street. He pushed the accelerator as fast as it would go, pegging the speedometer, knowing that Maka's life depended on it.

It wasn't long before he stopped outside the DWMA, making tire tracks on the street and almost landing the bike on its side. He carried Maka bridal-style once more, scurrying up the steps two at a time.

"S-Soul..." Maka groaned.

"Later, Maka!" he cut her off, running as fast as his legs would carry him. At long, long last, he kicked the doors open and leaped through them, landing on the floor just as the first rays of daylight broke through. He wasn't sure if he had made it in time or not, all he knew was that he had landed halfway on top of Maka. He quickly rolled over onto catch his breath, before sitting up on his knees to examine Maka. He lifted her torso, holding her head to his chest. He felt around her body for a pulse, but couldn't feel a beating. His shoulders sagged. His eyes, stinging with tears, widened.

Soul held the unnaturally still Maka in his arms, right there in the middle of the hallway. He held her head, her pale face illuminated by the breaking daylight, close to his chest, quietly sobbing.

_Why..._ he thought, _why'd they take her from me?_ Soul's sobs shook his body; he just...couldn't believe she was gone.

"Maka...I'm so sorry...I tried to save you, I swear! I'm sorry! I love you!"

"S-Soul..."

His heart stopped. He loosened his grip on Maka and looked at her face. Her eyes were half-open as she stared at him.

"Soul, why are you crying?" she asked weakly. Every muscle in Soul's body just suddenly seized up. Tears flowed freely from his eyes. His stomach curled into those familiar knots; his heart slammed in his ears. He opened his mouth to say something, but the words were lost in his throat, and whatever he had been planning to say came out as a solid kiss on her lips instead. He held her tighter, his lips trembling against hers.

_Maka...I'll never let you go again!_

Maka's eyes widened. Was...was Soul actually kissing her? Just as her mind began to register what was happening, Soul's mouth broke away from hers, leaving her to stare in shock at him.

"S...Soul?"

"Maka...I...I'm sorry..."

"No, no, d-don't be sorry," she said quickly.

Soul was confused as Maka tried to lift her hand to his face. Her arm shook; she was too weak to lift it. Soul gently took her wrist and helped her put her hand on his left cheek. He closed his eyes and sighed, shivering; her hand was as cold as death. Another silent tear slipped from his eye.

"Soul, please don't cry," she murmured.

"I-I...I almost lost you!" Soul cried, holding back sobs. "Y-you could have died!"

"But the point is, I didn't," she remained perfectly calm as she said this, even though Soul was on the verge of breaking. At last, her composure faltered as a crystal tear slipped from her eye, the young rays of daylight causing it to sparkle as it rolled off her cheek and shattered on the floor. Soul stared at her, feelings he had never known before bringing glittering tears to his crimson eyes. Maka moved her small hand to the back of his neck and pulled his head down to kiss him again. Soul sighed. He broke away for only a moment to murmur her name, his lips brushing against hers before pressing down on them again. The couple's eyes were shut tight, simply letting themselves fall into each others warmth. Maka's other arm slid up Soul's to wrap around his neck, crossing her forearms behind his head. Soul wrapped his arms around Maka's torso, one hand on her upper back, one behind her head. Tears still rolled from between their eyelids, but now they were tears of unspeakable relief, joy...

...and love.

Soul separated himself from her to breathe for a second, but his feelings drove him to kiss her just one more time. Finally, he parted their lips and simply stared at her, stroking her cheek. He shook his head slowly.

"Maka, I'm sorry for everything I...you know...did to you."

"No," she said, "I understand now." She turned her head to face his chest, putting her hand over his heart. "What you did...it was a display of power...of domination. You were trying to...for lack of a better phrase...show me who was the boss."

He shook his head. "Maka, that's no excuse for this!" He gestured to her various injuries, including the bruises that remained on her upper arms, though just barely. He laid his forehead on her own. "There is no excuse for all I did to you..."

"Soul..."

"Maka, I just...I don't wanna fight with you anymore. I just want us to...well...to be together. You know...as a couple...without all the fighting."

Maka smiled wryly. "Soul, every couple fights. If they don't, there's obviously something wrong."

"Maka, please...just..."

"I know what you're asking, Soul. And yes, I'll be your...girlfriend, on two conditions."

Soul nodded, prompting her to continue. She took a deep breath and sighed.

"Firstly, promise that you'll say you love me, every chance you get."

Soul held up his pinky. Maka smiled and locked it with hers.

"And the second condition?" he whispered nervously. Maka smiled.

"Just...kiss me one more time."

Soul grinned and obeyed, once again taking her lips with his own.

* * *

Spirit ran down the hallway, having heard the voices down by the entrance. Suddenly, he stopped dead. There was that little octopus-head! _And he was holding Maka!_

He was about to yell his protests when he heard Maka speaking.

"...Soul, and yes, I'll be your girlfriend..."

Spirit nearly collapsed. His jaw dropped to the floor. _Girlfriend?_

"Firstly, promise you'll say you love me...every chance you get."

Spirit's heart slammed in his chest. Soul's pinky locked with Maka's. He didn't hear what Maka said next, but his heart stopped completely when...could it really be happening? Yes, he finally decided, Soul...was _kissing _his Maka! He was about the yell out again, then the scream caught in his throat.

His ex-wife's face floated into his mind. This...had once been him and Kami. So why shouldn't he allow his daughter to feel the same things that he once had? Sure, perhaps she could have picked a better guy, but...

...so could Kami.

Spirit shut his mouth and turned back around to walk back to the Death Room.


End file.
